The centre of the city is easily explored on foot and most of the main
sights are within walking distance of the centre.

Helsinki is laid out with spacious streets interspersed with many gardens and parks.
Architecturally, Helsinki is a mixture of old and modern styles, with the old senate house
and the Tuomiokirkko, or Lutheran Cathedral, representing the older buildings, and the railroad station, designed in 1918 by the Finnish
architect Eliel Saarinen, as a notable example of modern architecture. Other points of
interest include the Jean Sibelius Monument, the Uspensky Cathedral, the Ataneum Art
Museum, the Sports Museum, and Helsinki's islands, with a zoo, recreational park, and
museums.

Helsinki is the cultural, commercial, and political center of Finland. The
University of Helsinki has been in the city since 1828, when it was moved from Turku,
where it was founded in 1640. The National Museum of Finland, the Finnish National Opera,
and several theaters, presenting works in both Finnish and Swedish, are located in the
city. Stock Exchange

The principal manufactures of Helsinki include paper, textiles, liquors,
china, chemicals, and metal goods; agricultural and dairy products and lumber and wood
products are exported in considerable quantity. A major part of the commercial activity is
centered on the harbor, in which separate facilities are maintained for passengers and
small shipments, for bulk shipments of lumber and wood products, and for handling large
incoming cargoes of coal and grain. The port can
accommodate any vessel, but it is icebound from January to May, except for a channel that
is kept clear by an icebreaker. Helsinki is also an international airline center.

The writer Mika Waltari was born here in 1908. His book "Sinuhe the
Egyptian" made him worldfamous. He has written very much.

The city was founded by Gustav I Vasa, king of Sweden, in 1550 on a site some distance
inland from its present location, to which it was moved in 1640. In 1713, during the
Northern War (1700-1721) between Russia and Sweden, the city was destroyed by a retreating
Swedish force; the present fortifications were begun in 1729. Finland was incorporated
into the Russian Empire in 1809, and Helsinki was made the administrative capital of the
Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812; since 1917 the city has been the capital of the Finnish
Republic.